Angela Simmons Sparks Controversy After Carrying a Bedazzled Gun Clutch at 2024 BET Awards

Angela Simmons is in hot water over the bedazzled green gun clutch she brought to the 2024 BET Awards.

Simmons, 36, flashed a wide smile as she waved the controversial accessory at cameramen on the Sunday, June 30, red carpet. In multiple snaps from the event, she was seen pointing the piece directly at photographers. (She paired the look with a plunging beaded gown and dangling emerald earrings.)

Fans were quick to share their concerned reactions via X, condemning Simmons for choosing to wear such a triggering design.

“Idk … Angela Simmons doing that on the red carpet just isn’t sitting right with me . She knows firsthand the devastation of gun violence in our community, yet that’s how she chose to pose at an award show,” one viewer wrote on the social media platform, seemingly referencing Simmons’ ex-fiancé, Sutton Tennyson , who was shot and killed in Atlanta in November 2018. The former couple welcomed their son, Sutton Jr., in September 2016.

A different social media user also referenced Tennyson, writing , “Angela Simmons son is growing up without his father & never even had the chance to know him because he was a victim of gun violence & she wants to be a corny low life goof walking around with a clip as a prop. This can’t be the legendary Rev Run ’s daughter.”

Others simply found the accessory to be “tacky” and “unnecessary.”

“Who styled her?? That’s all I want to know … This is so tone deaf,” read a comment underneath a TikTok post that shared photos of Simmons at the ceremony.

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As more backlash rolled in, Simmons took to Instagram to address her style choice.

“I’m not like that,” she began in a video shared late Sunday night. “I’m not violent. I’ve been through a lot in my personal life when it comes to gun violence. I just liked the bag. I thought it was a fashion moment. That was it. I didn’t have any intentions of ruffling anyone’s feathers. I don’t mean no harm. I’m super peaceful.”

Simmons has not yet responded to Us Weekly ’s request for further comment on the matter.